Mu
by o0whitelily0o
Summary: All humans will, without exception, eventually die. After they die, the place they go to is Mu. Nothingness. Rules written in the Death Note are set in stone... right?
1. Chapter 1

_Ugh…where am I?_ Matt found himself laying up on what felt like a hard dirt floor. He hurt _all_ over, especially his chest. _Feels like I was shot or something…_

_Wait… _

_I was. _

That kept his attention. He was **dead.** Shot down in the middle of the road. Well, it was appropriate at least; live a dog's life, die a dog's death. Mello was going to be pissed when he found out, though.

However, there were more pressing matters at hand. Like, for example, why he was still conscious. He did not share Mello's Catholic beliefs concerning the afterlife; he figured that dead was dead, and there was nothing more to it.

"I've never been so glad to be wrong in my life." He muttered to himself, standing and dusting himself off. Even so, this place didn't look anything like the Heaven or Hell that Mello talked about. It seemed to be night, but there wasn't anything up in the sky. For some reason, though, there was a line of street lamps to his left, marking what could only be a path. He couldn't quite tell where they went, but anything was better than just sitting here doing nothing, so he started walking.

Hopefully, whatever was at the other end would have cigarettes. Or video games.

- - -

Matt, never having been dead before, was still not quite sure what to expect from the afterlife. However, he was certain that this would've been low on the list. Before him stood a chain of buildings, the most prominent one reeking of loud music and alcohol. A sign, garishly painted so as to be impossible to miss, declared the name of the business.

He blinked. "A pub?" Again. "Called… Mu?" And once more for good measure.

The afterlife was a bar called 'nothingness'? Whose idea of a sick joke was that? Looking around, it seemed like the other buildings were motels or convenience stores (announcing from their windows sales on Aspirin and the such). Not a one selling electronics… pity. Ever complacent, Matt shrugged it off. At least the cigs would be easy enough to get.

Well, he was going to be here a while- an eternity, if Mello's religion was right about anything. Might as well find something amusing to do.

As he walked through the doors to Mu, he wondered how quickly he could get a bar fight started.

_A/N: Just a quick little fic, because DAMMIT! The Death Note ending sucked! This idea spawned from a conversation with a friend of mine, who is hopefully reading this. You see what you make me do? Heh heh. Anywez, I might continue with this, depending on my moods and whims. Updates will most likely be erratic and (while longer than this one) fairly short. We'll see._


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing that Matt noticed as he walked into the bar was the surprisingly small amount of people there. Or rather, it was a small amount compared to what Matt was expecting. Considering that the eniterety of the human race was supposed to go here when they died, he thought it would've been packed to the brim. He wondered briefly if maybe he was still dying in the road, and all this was a dream to comfort his mind before he actually did die. Almost immidiately he brushed that thought off- if he was dreaming, he would've come up with a much more convincing afterlife than this place.

The second thing he noticed was a bony man, black hair wild and uncombed, hunched up on his stool at the bar counter. If that wasn't enough to give away the man's identity, the glass full of cherries next to him certainly was.

"L?" Thoughts of causing a bar fight momentarily vanished, and Matt wondered why he was so shocked. L had died almost four years ago- where else would he be but here? Although seeing his, Mello's, and Near's idol right in front of him after so long… he couldn't help but be a little speechless.

The raccoon-eyed man turned his head, and after a moment of confusion his eyes widened. "Good evening, Matt. You've grown quite a bit since I last saw you. I certainly didn't expect you to be here so soon." He made a brief gesture with his hands, inviting the red-head to take the stool next to him.

Matt grinned, feeling a little shy despite himself, as he complied. "Well, you know what can happen when you take on the Kira case."

L looked startled (or as close to startled as his very small range of facial expressions would allow). "You continued the case? I thought that Near was in the top spot to succeed me."

"Well, he was… it's sort of a long story."

"Please, tell me what happened. I haven't had any news of the living since Chief Yagami-san showed up, and he wasn't all that helpful."

Back at Wammy's, Mello or Near almost always took the spotlight, and though Matt was quite content with being in third, he had been a little jealous. Now, having L's full and undivided attention, he couldn't help but feel flattered. So he began.

* * *

"…And then the next time I hear from the idiot, he's blown himself up!"

"Ah yes. I heard of the explosion from Chief Yagami-san. Seems that he died shortly after. I admire Mello's dedication, but his tactics…"

Matt nodded, "He called me from the middle of the wreckage. Expected me to uproot my life to go and help him!" He paused to take another gulp out of his drink (draft beer, because no matter how much he loved them, he would never drink an appletini in front of L).

"You did, though."

"Of course I did! He was dying! No matter how big a bastard he is, he was still my best friend. Couldn't just leave him there."

"And then?"

"After he had healed- more or less; he still had this big-ass scar covering half his face- he managed to drag me into this whole Kira case fiasco. He got some information out of Near and decided to stalk the Second Kira."

L perked up noticably. "Misa Amane-san?"

"Yeah. Thin, blonde… pretty cute, all things considered." If he noticed L giving a slight nod of agreement, he didn't mention it. "Eventually, following her led us back to Japan again. This woman- Takada, I think- was acting as Kira's spokeswoman. And when Mello came up with the brilliant plan to kidnap her, guess who got the job as the distraction?" Matt gave a cynical grin.

"So that's how you ended up here?"

"Yup. Who would've thought one woman had thirteen fully-armed body gaurds with orders to shoot to kill?" Another big swig of his beer. "In retrospect, I should've worn a bulletproof vest. Or brought a few hand grenades with me."

The detective next to him nodded, chewing on another cherry before asking, "Did you ever figure out who Kira was?"

"Well, Mello came to the conclusion that Misa Amane was no longer acting as the Second Kira, and from information that he got from Near it sounded like the new L was. Light Yagami, I think."

"If it's any consolation, you were right."

Weirdly enough, it was. Matt grinned a little before turning his attention back to his drink. Which was empty. How long had he been talking? "Oy! Bartender! Another round over here!"

A large, bony and white creature with dangling arms and if you looked closely (ve-ery closely) seemed female raised an oversized hand to show that she had heard. The first time she had appeared, L introduced her as a shinigami named Rem. Didn't look a thing like Mello had described Shidoh, but Matt decided not to argue and accepted Rem without fuss. This was the afterlife, after all, was it really so surprising that there would be shinigami here? (Truthfully, what shocked Matt most of all was the fact that Rem was wearing a striped apron- she had grudgingly told him it was the employee's uniform.)

"So, L, what do people do for fun around here? Besides drink, I mean."

"Everything and everyone's upstairs. According to what Rem-san said, the hallways up there are endless, and have rooms containing everything you could possibly want. Watari went up there for the first time a few months ago, and he brings back cake every now and then."

The red-head wanted to ask why L never went up there himself, but figured that even if he did ask, he wouldn't get a straight answer. Instead, he turned his own thoughts towards the stairs over by the left wall. He didn't waste time wondering how it was possible to have endless, wish fulfilling hallways- it was the afterlife, such things were to be expected.

And with a death god as his witness- he _would_ find an arcade up there somewhere!

_A/N:__ Ha! Look! Another chapter! Bet none of you were expecting this, huh? Yup, when shinigami die they become bartenders in Mu. And I most certainly did not come up with that because the idea of a drunk Rem was hilarious. Of course not… _

_Anywez, next chapter Matt explores the upstairs a little. If my timeframe is right… looks through the manga…Mello will be showing up. Drunk!Mello… h'oh boy._


	3. Chapter 3

"Er, so sorry. I'll, uh, be going now. You make a lovely couple, really." Matt got himself out of that room as fast as he could. Navigating through the upstairs halls had been more difficult than he anticipated- mainly due to the fact that _every single door looked exactly the same_. It was impossible to tell what was waiting on the other side! And what had been in the room he had just exited was _another_ pair of recently deceased star-crossed lovers. Matt was not exactly the innocent type, but walking in on two people 'consummating their love at long last'- as they put it- was an embarrassing experience on everyone's part.

Matt sighed and ran his fingers through his hair: thirty-six doors and no signs of anything electronic and beeping. Rem had explained somewhat how this place worked; you had to concentrate properly on what it was you wanted, and then the next door you opened would lead you to it. This was hard for newcomers, but as you stayed here longer it became as easy as breathing. Matt supposed that made sense, but it hadn't kept him from trying anyway.

However, he had been here several hours, and he was starting to feel a little guilty about leaving L all by himself at the bar. The older man had said that he didn't mind, but with L you could never really tell what he was feeling.

"It wouldn't hurt to go back and take a break." He reasoned, walking further along the hall. The only convenient thing about this place was that every twenty doors or so there was a clearly marked exit back down to the ground floor. "The only n00b-friendly feature in this bloody place." He muttered, descending the staircase.

He didn't get far before the front door to the bar burst open. Matt had only a second to register the leather-clad blonde at the entrance before he pulled out a gun and glared around the room. "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?"

Matt blinked, partly shocked to see Mello here so soon, and partly shocked at the blonde's entrance. But that was right… Mello was Catholic. Must be a bit of a shock to have your entire belief system come crashing down on you.

At this point, he had one of two options. Either a) sit back at watch Mello tear the place apart, or b) go over and calm him down before he hurt somebody. While option A would certainly have been more amusing, he didn't like to watch Mello look so confused and panicked. Plus, he had started talking under his breath, which rarely indicated anything good.

Decision made, he took the last step down and started over.

* * *

None of this made sense. Mello knew where he was supposed to be- he was supposed to be burning in Hell for his sins (murder, arson, and torture only topping the list). And even if he had somehow miraculously gotten into the heaven, it most certainly wouldn't be a _bar_. So _where was he_?

"Maybe Satan's trying to lull me into a false sense of security…" He started muttering, "Not that he's doing a very good job of it…" So wrapped up in his own confusion, he didn't even notice the red-head that had made his way over until he grabbed Mello's wrist and forced him to lower the gun.

"Calm down, Mello. Wave that thing around too much and people will wonder if you're compensating for something."

Mello blinked before he looked to his left and found himself looking into a pair of orange goggles. "Matt?"

The gamer grinned and spread his arms out. "Da da da daaaa!"

His relief at seeing his friend again, and guilt for knowing he was the reason for it, were momentarily cast aside to make way for suspicion. Mello narrowed his eyes and muttered, "How do I know that you're really Matt and not some kind of satanic illusion?"

Being used to Mello's paranoia by now, Matt just leaned in close to the blonde and whispered in his ear, "What's the matter? Don't know your seme when you see him?"

_Yup_, Mello thought as he pushed the red-head away, a small smirk worming it's way onto his face, _it's him alright._

_

* * *

_

_A/N: Ugh… I struggled with the second half of the chapter a lot. It was hard to think of how Mello would react to something like this, especially '__cause__ it's my first time writing him. Well, here's hoping that you all will forgive me for taking so long! __Up next?__ Takada will probably reappear, and since she dies wearing only a blanket… that'll be interesting. L will be around some more too. _

_If anyone wants to suggest an idea or scenario or something for a later chapter, I'd love to hear it (after all, I need to fill the time between character deaths somehow)._


	4. Chapter 4

Matt sighed impatiently and exchanged an uncomfortable glance with L. Ever since Mello had seen the detective, he had latched onto his waist with a fanboy-ish squeal of delight. It was to be expected- of the three successors, Mello had always been the closest to L. Even so, it had been quite some time since this started, and enough was enough.

"Mello… it's not that I'm not happy to see you too, but-" L started, but was quickly cut off as the blonde tightened his hold.

"But _L_, I _missed_ you!"

The detective struggled to get the words out in spite of the choking grasp Mello had on him. "I missed… you too… but my respiration-"

Again, he was cut off as Mello looked up immediately. "You missed _me_? _Really_?" He squealed again and nearly broke L's ribcage with yet another hug.

Matt all but growled, "Yeah, yeah, he's a regular Casanova. Now let go, you're hurting him." With a faint 'eep' of realization, Mello complied.

"I-I'm sorry L. You've just been gone for so long and Near…" Suddenly, something occurred to him. "Wait a sec… Near's not dead yet… which means…" Realization slowly made it's way into his expression. "Oh… my… God…"

Almost afraid to, Matt asked, "What?"

Whipping around to face the redhead, Mello replied with increasing frenzy. "I died before him! _I got here first!_ _**I beat him!**_"

The confusion on Matt's face cleared up almost instantly. Ignoring the fact that he himself had died first of the three of them (because he never bothered competing with either of them anyway), he grinned. "I knew you had it in you."

Mello didn't hear his reply, being stuck in throes of ecstasy. He had done it! At long last, after all those years of struggling, he finally beat Near at something! Being the first to die wasn't at the top of his list, but he would take what he could get. Pointing to the closest living thing on the other side of the counter, he demanded, "You! Crazy white bartender-thing, get me alcohol!"

"Some more cherries for me would be nice, Rem-san." L asked politely, choosing to ignore his successor's outburst. He had never understood why Roger had wanted Mello and Near to work together. While it was true that they were both brilliant, their basic personalities would undoubtedly lead them to killing one another. He found himself looking at Matt, who was simply watching his friend with amusement. He remembered several instances where Mello and Near had been given projects to do together- Matt had always been with Mello, acting as a tranquilizer for the blonde, and assisting with anything he was asked. If Roger had taken the time to see the big picture, to have the three of them work as a team instead of excluding the redhead…

The front door squeaked open, startling him out of his thoughts. He looked over, half-expecting to see his white-haired successor, and instead saw a fairly attractive dark-haired woman looked nervously around her. This on it's own did not deserve any special attention. The fact that she was only wearing a blanket, on the other hand, was.

There was a distinct sound of a room full of jaws hitting the floor.

L's was not among them.

The woman looked uncomfortable. "Does anyone have some clothes I can borrow?"

Silence.

Looking around, she noticed a man with a sweater on. "What about you?"

"I-need-this." He replied quickly, not daring to take his eyes off her.

Frustration overcame her nerves, and she said, "Look, I need some clothes. This blanket won't come off, even if you don't hand them over." A scrawny looking man in the back started to say something but shut his mouth as soon as everyone else in the bar turned to give him a group death-glare.

Matt looked up at the commotion (or lack-there-of) and grinned. "Hey Mel, look who it is. Kira's whor- I mean Takada." Mello looked up from his drink, smirking as he caught sight of the woman.

L looked vaguely surprised. "Kira's spokesperson was _Kiyomi_ Takada?" He had suspected as much when Matt had told him his rendition of how he died. Still, Takada was not a rare last name, and it would have to be a huge coincidence for the same woman who Light had dated in college to be the one Matt and Mello had died over.

_Which those two haven't forgotten yet_, he thought, noting the conspiring looks on the pair's faces. Only a few hours dead and they were already prepared to make trouble. 

A small smile made it's way onto his face. He couldn't help it. It was comforting to know that some things just didn't change.

* * *

_A/N: Yay! A smaller gap between updates! Aren't you all happy? Just so we're clear, I don't like Takada. This will probably influence my writing, although I will try not to let it. If you think I'm writing her out of character, let me know. In all likelihood, I won't notice. Next chapter, Rem actually gets some lines! And a special guest appearance by Near, from the world of the living. Should be amusing._


End file.
